- A FISHING TRAGEDY, BOAT OVFTRTUiNRS AT ALTONA'. -A fishing exsursion to Altona Bay on Wednesday. ended in the death of two adult members of the .party and the rescue of a boy, the son of one of the victims. Shortly blefore 8 o'clock at night, a young man. named John Albert S -itierf, of Pentland-parade, Yiirraville, riding a pony which 'had the appearance of having been hard driven, reined in at the Williamstown police station, and breathlessly informe6d the officer in charge that he had been an eye witness of a tragedy at Altona' Bay. .Half an hour or so earlier, he said, two' men and :a boy were 'seated in a boat oil Altona Bay in the. direction of the powder. magazine. They were fishing, and the sea was very choppy. Suddenly the boat 'over turned and the occupants were thrown into the water. Switzer, who was unable to. give details, said he had hurried away to ac quaint the police, but before he left one man and the boy had got ashore. The youth seemed -to be quite right, but t...

RAILWAY " IRANKS." "Yes," said a railway official, "the world is full of cranks, and we get our share of them. "There was the man who photographed his season ticket on post cards, which he supplied wholesale to the collectors. IHis objection was' o pulling out his season ticket. Another man would write down the number of his ticket and then say ,he had lost it. A farmer who is now quarrel ling over some fowls wants us to 'sack' the superintendent, who he says 'will never get to heaven.' "This reminds me of the king of cranks. He is a clergyman, and is devoted to guards and engine drivers. He waves hands, um brellas and red handkerchiefs at them in token of friendship. But he doesn't like the general manager, and bombards him with letters, post cards and printed doggerel. "You have heard about the man who would not give up his ticket because he found that according to English law what a man has paid for cannot be taken away from him? He beat the company, and the by-law has been modif...

THE SANITY OF LUNACY. "The. only people who act by pure rea son are all in lunatic asylums." Thus a medical.man. You are not to suppose that lhe is indulging mn that armusement, very popular with his profession,.trymg to make your flesh creep. He does not want you to be horrified. He is quite satisfied that' the .purely reasonable people should *be in the lunatic asylum;. And a good many of us will no doubt agree that there is the best place for them. Our medical man, if .we understand him aright, was having his fling at. pure reason by way-of glorifying the female sex. It is, you know, commonly said by fellows of thc baser sort that women are not governed by reason. To whdch it is no -doubt a crush ing answer. that all, the people -who are so governed are mid. But some of us, a trifle bewildered .by these sweeping charges and dashing repartees, may want to ask what, if anyuhing, they exactly mean. Now, to begin at the beginning, it is often asserted that women care nothing about lo...

M'VEA BEATS BELL. At Newtown Stadi?n, Sydney, on Saturdajr. night, M'Vea' defeated Colin Bell. The first round was willing, both mixing it freely. In the se cond round M'Vea got in three'heavy rights to Bell's temple, and he went- down with his left leg bent under him. le was unable to get up, and was counted out. It was afterwards dis covereid that his ankle was fractured. Ho wias ordered to St. Vincent's Hospital;

WORLD'S WELTER . WEIGIT CIAMPIONSHIP. SEMI-FINAL AT STADIUM ON THURSDAY. One of the two eemi-finals for the world's" welter weight championship will be decided at the West Melbourne Stadium on New Year'.a night, between: Ray Bronson' arid Waldeniar Holberg. Bronson,: who is the champion of the United States, was in Australia three years ago, -but to-day- he is .a much different man from what he was. on his previous visit, as during the interval he has im proved wonderfully, and" becomer iecognised as one of the leading international boxers.: Sinde he was last here he has.mot such men as Johnny Glover, Eddie' Webber, Tom Howell, Young Say lor, Clarence English;,. Packey. M'Farland .and Hilliard Lang, with a remarkable .run. of. succesas Next Thursday's appearance in Melbourne. .wi be his first contest since his return to Australii, A few months ago Bronson was married,: and his wife accompanies him on the present trip.. Since his wedding he has defeated Young Erne, Ilowell and ''Wild...

"'GUNBOAT" SMITH BEATS LANG FORD . "Gunboat" Smith was awarded the decision ovter Sam Langford at the end of a twelve-round bout aj Boston. Smith did nearly all the fighting. in the early rounds, Langford makirig no" serious defence. When Smith weakened, however, the negro assumed the aggressive, and belabored Smith with right and left on the .body. Iie olpened a gash under the white man's eye. Smith was tired antl Langford apparently fresh. Many spectators were surprised at -the referee's decision. : The surprise of the "many spectators" may mean that the referee's verdict was a surprising one-not' justified by the results of the contest; or that the spectators were astounded to see "Gunboat"' Smith defeat the invincible Langford. Either construction may be the correct one; both cannot be right. ' S"Gunboat" Smith has had the misfortune to fall foul of some of the American boxa,n critits, who have delighted in cheapening his performances. Bostonians have 'been fed up' with those de...

M'GOORTY V. DAVE SMITH. FIGHT LASTS LESS THAN A ROUND; At Sydney Eddie .M'Goorty, the American mid dle weight, on Thursday night at the stadium knocked out Dave Smith in less than a. rouild. The contest created great .excitement in Sydney, especially in view of the fact that M'Goorty had knodlced out Smith in one minute and 40 seconds when the pair met in America some months a:o. A packed house greeted the appearance of ..the bo-ers in the ring, and after M'Goorty had held up proceedings for a minute or two by arranging his belt, an action which caused a section of the crowd to hoot, there'by signifying that they re garded it as a trick to scare Smith, the men got to work, M'Goorty went straight for his man, as if he already kliilw what avas in. store. His: left hook was seen in action right aways Although Smith iiad had it incessantly imliressed upon him to watch it; he could not. lie saw it coming and felt it come. It landed squarely on the jaw and the Australian hit the boards, b...

WELTER WEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP. IIOLBERG BEATS. BRONSON. A SPLTENDID CONTEST. Waldemar Holberg, the great Danish welter, evidently learnt a profitable ees son through his disqualification in his. fight against Goode in on 22nd ult. lHis tactics in the contest . against Ray Bron son, the Ameirican welter. weight champion, on New. Year's night at the' Stadium, al-. though they. requiied the attention of tl?e refereferee (. Fullalove) occasionally, were a vast. improvement on those of .his previous fight. After a clean, willing contest, which lasted the :full twenty rounds, he was with out hesitation declared the. winner on points. Th Dane' led off with' a smart straight left to the body; .anc :;during the first ,minute's sparrming he e landed three more body punches and a nasty hook to the American's chin. Towards the end of the. round Bronson's left found his adversary's face twice in quicie succession. Holberg was warned for having his hands. too low. . TPhe first four rounds were re ma...

MEHEGAN BEATS BROWN. FINE DISPLAY BY AMERICAN. { The eight or nine thousand speotatora who watched' Melhegan and Brown fight ing in an elimination contest for the light-weight championship of the worldt I Baker's Stadium on Boxing night witnessed as fine a display of "the noble art" as has ,ever been seen in Melbourne. Both men entered the ring in perfect condition, fought their 20 rounds in the best of good humor, and though their respective styles were poles apart, they proved to be so evenly matched that very . few points could have separated them at the close. Both 'men received a great ovation on entering tahe ring, and it was "evident that "Pal" Brown had many supporters even in Mchegan's stronghold. The Aus tralian had Duke Mullins, Jim Mehe gan,. Dave Bell and *J. Preston in his corner, while the American was at- 1 tended by Ed. Williams, Jack Mitchell and J. Doherty. F. Fullalove acted as referee. Right from the start Brown showed ,that his methods were calculated to give t...

BOMfBlA'RiDlit WELIA V. SMITh. Bombardier Wells, who was rcerntly defeated by the W'iench champnion, Georgee (arpentier, hiase been matched against "Dick" Smith for the heavy, weight hanmpionship. The match will take pilace in February, and will be for 4100 a side.

MARRIAGE ASSURANCE POLICIES. What may be described as "marriage asurancces" are being effected by t7ie Pru dential company, whose secretary, Mr. J. Burn. is iresponsible for: tie innovation. "I believe it is the first: assurance of the kind that has ever .een put forivard,'. .said Mr. Burn.. le explained `that' 'the scheme of insurance is available for" dhil dren up to the age of fifteei, 'and the bonuses which are added. by the comipan at the rate of £2 per .ent., become p.a; able'at mnarriage. The total' sium iraured matures at' death after the' age' bf 21, or at the fixed. age ;decided upon by the person effecting the assurance.: It death occurs before the age of 21, then the pre miums are returned. By sub'sbribing a piemium slightly. higher than the ordinary rate a parent can secure that, in the event of his or her own death occurring before the child attains majority, the company will guarantee to pay the p~re. miums intil the age of 21. - "Let us suppose that a child was in su...

NERVES* The "nervy" woman is so apt to let her nerves get the mastery that she frequenrly entertains .fears which to a person with a well-balanced nervous system may. ap pear. -absurd. Some ..people, for. instani?e, develop a fear of going'out of doors alone; they b ecome; almost te?rorised at crossing the road or being in any large open space. Large buildings, such ' s .theatres /or. churches, appal them. Others cannot bear to be in a small room or in an apartment with a closed door. All these fears have, of course, an imaginary basis, and can be made to disappear by the persistent exer-. cise of. self-control. When once the deter mined effort has been made, to go out and brave the supposed dangers, ;,whaev~cr the result' may ..be, the patierit 'dis'covers that they are non-existent. It is in cases like this that mind-control, or mental therapeutics, is of eminent value. For the "nervy" person repose of mind and of body is' one of the first steps to wards cure. The ",rest cure" is ...

A HAT WITH VARIATIONS. A good holiday making dodge where hats are concerned is to get one black or white straw hat, of medium size, with a round or Slightly oblong crown and wired brim. To provide variety, make various cover ings for it, to match one's different frocks;. each of these coverngs should be provided with a narrow bangD of flat elastic, fasten: ing with a hook and eye, so that they can be slipped on and off the hat in the twink ling of an eye. A flowered muslin mob crown, with a finely kilted' frill to match, narrowly edged with the 'finest lace, to come to the edge 1. As I wore it on Friday--au naturel. . 2. On Saturday--with a flowered muslin: mob crown. 3. On Sunday-covered with fine black tulle. ,f the brim, with a satin ribbon picking ap the color of the flower in the sprays, or. a band and knot of black velvet ribbon to encircle the crown, is charming with a obtton gown. To transform one's solitary piece of headgear into a Sunday hat, provide a I similar mob cap of...

CROCHET PETTICOAT FOR GIRL . OF 2 TO 3 YEARS. This is a very pretty .little petticoat without fastening, the bodice being worked without open ing, and is made large enough, to slip over the child's head. Materials required-about 6 oz, of 3-ply vest woo and a bone hook, No,. 12, 1 yard ribbon * inch wide. 'Work a chain of 18 inches, turn. .Draw a loop through four successive stitches, .wool over hook, draw through all 5 loops at once, and make a chain stitch, *, draw a loop through the chin lust made, another through the back thread of the last loop of the previous group, and 1 through each of the next 2 stitches (5 loops on liook), draw through all at once, and make a chain stitch;. repeat from * for 12 inches, then half a treble in each of the remaining stitches to end of .hain (half Lrebies are formed oy d.awing througil ill 8 loops at once; instead of- 2 at a time; as in ,reble), turn with 2 chain; a half treble' in the .;sck thread of each half treble :in the previous rcw, draw ...

VICTORIA V. SOUTH AUSTRALIA. SECOND DAY'S. PLAY. Saturday was a real sunshine holiday, breathing of spring rather than midsum mer, and ideal for outdoor sport, but the batting on the Melbourne ground was prac. tically featureless. Seldom has a feebler display of batting been shown on a per feet wicket than that of the Victorians. Five good wickets fell for 29 runs! Bracher shaped fairly well, and Park was the vie tim of a bad decision, but with the excep tion of Armstrong, who was being medical ly treated for malarial fever, and perhaps Ransford and Carroll, the Victorian disi play was weak and indecisive. Kirkwood kept a fine length with his slows, and varied his pace in brainy fashion, but the batsmen treated him to far greater respect than he deserved. Instead of using their feet and moving to the ball, the majority seemed "snowed up," and unable to leave their crease. The collapse. was disappoint ing in .the extreme, for the home support ers looked forward to our representatives...

INTER-STATE CRICKET., VICTORIA V. NEW SOUTH WALES. FIRST DAY'S PLAY. The ninety-first of these _.historic con tests, of which New .outh Wales has won 50 and Victoria 40, was commenced on the :Melbourne ground on New. Year's day. After the notable victory over South Australia, and with all the elements favor .able to an enjoyable match, one of those unaccountable -and upsetting incidents which from time to time of late conspired to ruin Victorian cricket cropped up, to the chagrin and. annoyance of all enthusi ats. having the' true interests of the grand old game at heart. .From' the facts "elicited, the whole con tretemps seems to have been the result of an unfortunate misuinderstanding. After Ransford's medical adviser had peremp torily directed the popular left hander to withdraw for a tiihe from big cricket on account' of the risk of, a complete break down in health, the Victorian selection committee approached Warwick Arm strong with a view to. taking over the cobn inand of the ...

THE TEA HABIT, 'ew women realise how many digestive troubles . have, their origin in excessive tea drinking. Tea takei in mnoderatiion is a useful stimulant; but: taken in large' quantities, and at' all houis of the day, it 'can act as actual poison, more espe cially if it isB ,adiy made. lfany womie begini with an early cup of tea before, rising;, then they .will have two, some times three, large, cups for breakfast. They will take tea again with their midday meal, more tea in the afternoon, and will indulge once more in the "cup that cheers" before going to rest .at night: The most. inveterate tea drinkers are girl and woman workers, women to whom it is of the utiuost importance that they should keep" well, for' the- means of earning their livelihood hangs in the balance. ' . But they simply cannot keep in good .condi tion if they don't knock off some of their cups of tea in the day. Never take tea oftener than in the mdrning at breakfast" and ii the 'afternoon at tea time if you ...